Hardware GBA Backlight! (AGB-001)

[Lemmy Koopa]

So I got a 40 to 32 pin adapter, and it works great, but the case won't sit flush and there's too much pressure on the screen?
The adapter is too thick. What are some things I can do to make the assembly fit together?

I trimmed away a lot of the plastic in the way but it seems like it's still too thick.

 

[BobWoggle]

So I got a 40 to 32 pin adapter, and it works great, but the case won't sit flush and there's too much pressure on the screen?
The adapter is too thick. What are some things I can do to make the assembly fit together?

I trimmed away a lot of the plastic in the way but it seems like it's still too thick.

Have you peeled the black thing off the back of the screen?

 

[Lemmy Koopa]

Have you peeled the black thing off the back of the screen?

The foam has been pealed off.

Since the previous post, I have shaved a lot of plastic off both the frontlight assembly and the place in the case where the screen sits with a file.

So far, it's sitting WAY better, but it's still not screwing down all the way.

Pressing buttons would show pressure response on the LCD (not good as this can cause it to break)
but after shaving so much plastic off, it reduced that problem a lot.

I need the case to not stress on the screen so much or else it could lead to the screen getting cracked.

I'll probably try to shave more off later. It's looking good.


I also need to refurbish the buttons. The response is a bit poor, and doing diagonal directions on the D pad is a joke. Luckily I got some graphite pencils that I used to repair button response on Game & Watch units I have, and it should work on my GBA too.

 

[guidob]

Is the ags 001 the one with fitting problems or the 101?

 

[Lemmy Koopa]

Is the ags 001 the one with fitting problems or the 101?

Mine is frontlit so..

 

[codezer0]

Okay guys, since i was redirected here...

I started with an original GBA I rescued from Goodwill. It was working fine, albeit obviously with the non-lit screen.

Ordered the frontlight kit from HandHeldLegend.com. as well as a fresh and new shell to put the finished work in.

Since attempting to install it though, turning on the system will cause the power light on the console to briefly flash on and off immediately again. Screen remains black. When soldered in the places listed in this video ( ), the front light does come on. but again, the LCD itself won't come on at all. Tried reseating the LCD's connector a couple of times already with no luck. Also tried de-soldering the front-light but still getting the same behavior.

Is there a way to get it fixed and working again?

 

[Phoenny]

Successful mod using a white tab screen on 40 pin mobo. I'm very happy with the results. For people who are afflicted by ghosting using my same setup, just try to rotate the potentiometer in counterclockwise direction. I also had to solder REVC to GND to remove both washed color and ghosting.

GBA pic: http://i.imgur.com/BF5Uc1r.jpg?1

 

[guidob]

Is it really necessary to solder the ribbon cable to the pcb, having a 10 1-1 motherboard? The brightness is fine and image too. Will it harm the screen?

 

[Woxinum]

Successful mod using a white tab screen on 40 pin mobo. I'm very happy with the results. For people who are afflicted by ghosting using my same setup, just try to rotate the potentiometer in counterclockwise direction. I also had to solder REVC to GND to remove both washed color and ghosting.

GBA pic: http://i.imgur.com/BF5Uc1r.jpg?1

Well done ! Which ribbon did you use?

 

[Dnilo]

I have a 32-pin GBA, installed a 101 backlit screen last week and noticed the ghosting/scanlines and found about the REVC-GND-COM soldering, now I have perfect image! Thank you guys!

However I'm concerned about not being able to use the potentiometer anymore, I turned it a bit after this and it didn't change anything. My question is, is it safe to have soldered those three points? Are there any risks?

 

[Monty Kensicle]

I have a 32-pin GBA, installed a 101 backlit screen last week and noticed the ghosting/scanlines and found about the REVC-GND-COM soldering, now I have perfect image! Thank you guys!

However I'm concerned about not being able to use the potentiometer anymore, I turned it a bit after this and it didn't change anything. My question is, is it safe to have soldered those three points? Are there any risks?

Are you triming the POT with the power on? After the Mod I did I couldn't adjust it without powering on the GBA.

 

[Dnilo]

Yes, I always have. Now I disconnected the COM-REVC cable and was able to adjust. The colors were too saturated and dark when that connection was there, so, now I only have the REVC to GND cable soldered.

However, I still notice a slight ghosting that I didn't before soldering the GND with REVC or COM, for instance if a dark tile or sprite is in a place and I move or change screens they remain there for a little. Is this normal?

 

[Dnilo]

I'm reading on the past two pages (I had read up to 37 only) and I seem to have image retention on my 32-pin AGB, any suggestions?

EDIT:

I was using a brown/black tab 101 screen on my 32-pin AGB, so, I had a white one lying around and swapped it. Now I managed to make it work without ghosting and scanlines at the cost of a bit of brightness since the new screen seems to have less light.

I consider this mod a success now, I will be updating with 3 more mods but this time with 40-pin AGBs. However, I only have brown/black tab screens now and I didn't specify the ebay guy about ribbon adapter for white or black tab, only that I had 40-pin AGBs... Let's see what I get and run into when building them.

 

[Woxinum]

Hello everyone,

I finally got a 101 screen with brown/black tab for my AGB 40 pins \o/
however i have few questions

If i buy this ribbon adapator do i also need to set the pot ? Does the switch on the ribbon must be hidden inside the shell ?

Thanks for your experience.

 

[Dnilo]

Hello everyone,

I finally got a 101 screen with brown/black tab for my AGB 40 pins \o/
however i have few questions

If i buy this ribbon adapator do i also need to set the pot ? Does the switch on the ribbon must be hidden inside the shell ?

Thanks for your experience.

Hello Woxinum, you almost always need to adjust the pot, but that's when everything is pieced back together and it's just a matter of turning it with a screwdriver a little bit.

The switch goes like the image attached and will be located inside a small square in the battery compartment fold it carefully where the end of the cable meets the edge of the 101 screen, it need to be placed very precisely.

 

[Woxinum]

Hello Woxinum, you almost always need to adjust the pot, but that's when everything is pieced back together and it's just a matter of turning it with a screwdriver a little bit.

The switch goes like the image attached and will be located inside a small square in the battery compartment fold it carefully where the end of the cable meets the edge of the 101 screen, it need to be placed very precisely.

Whoa, thanks a million Dnilo for your very helpful reply !

 

[Dnilo]

Whoa, thanks a million Dnilo for your very helpful reply !

Not a problem my friend I'm getting into modding too !!!

 

[ynk1121]

I just finished doing this mod. Even with all the plastic shaving, the screen is just slightly too big for the case to close 100% perfect. It looks like the crystal is too tall and hitting into the back of the screen. I was wondering if anyone has attempted to move or replace it with a slimmer one?

 

[Romsstar]

I just finished doing this mod. Even with all the plastic shaving, the screen is just slightly too big for the case to close 100% perfect. It looks like the crystal is too tall and hitting into the back of the screen. I was wondering if anyone has attempted to move or replace it with a slimmer one?

If it's too thick and not sitting right you probably haven't removed the black rubber behind the screen. you need to remove all the rubber or it won't close perfectly.
It will however close perfectly once you do. Haven't experienced any issues, actually apart from a much better screen, I don't feel any difference in the haptic feeling of the GBA.

 

[ynk1121]

If it's too thick and not sitting right you probably haven't removed the black rubber behind the screen. you need to remove all the rubber or it won't close perfectly.
It will however close perfectly once you do. Haven't experienced any issues, actually apart from a much better screen, I don't feel any difference in the haptic feeling of the GBA.

Edit: I see what I did. You were right. I missed the black rubber on the front. With that gone it is almost perfect. Thanks.